r/nosurf • u/MoanaArielle • 9d ago

Quitting smartphones/apps - tips for social folks?

I started parting ways with Facebook/instagram on and off since Spring. The trouble is, I really miss the social aspect. I’m very social, and normally would talk to lots of friends and share memes/videos during the day. Without it, I felt like I barely heard from anyone. I don’t fault them because it’s a pattern of how we usually communicate and relate to each other. This lead me to go back to both. I also enjoy seeing friends/family updates from other parts of the world. But, I also don’t want my kids to just remember their mom always being on her phone. It’s really important to me to break this addiction. I’m looking into a light phone/dumb phone. How did you deal with the loss of social relationships, and how did you fill the space it left? Thanks!

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u/PlatypusBackground53 9d ago

I think the cut off from being ‘social’ is a sacrifice you need to make when getting off social media. Kind of the definition I guess? I have been off all year now (insta/facebook) and have really see how dependent people are on it. Even me. Occasionally I’ve thought ‘I’ll just log in to check what’s going’… but then I may as well just stay logged on. So I haven’t been back on at all and I feel better for it… I check Reddit and YouTube a lot now but it’s different. It’s not really ME showing the world me and I’m not up to date with friends but I don’t want to be either. It’s not natural and it gives us something to talk about when we do meet. You also realise no one cares if you deactivate or delete your social media. Maybe 2 or 3 people I don’t have regular contact with have asked me. It’s a fake world, a literal Matrix that we are all plugged in to. If it comes up in conversation, I encourage everyone to just get rid of it. Don’t make an announcement, it’s so cringy. Just DO IT. No one cares and they never will. But endless scrolling through slop and rage bait will take its toll on you without realising. I’m still getting over it.

I read the other day; One day off social media feels like you missed everything. One week off it feels like you missed nothing!